Validity and reliability of a speaking scale for assessing Spanish as a foreign language

Abstract

This research is part of the field of Applied Linguistics in Teaching Spanish as a Foreign Language, as regards the validity and reliability of speaking tests for classification purposes in SFL. The complexity is determined, first of all, by the fact that oral assessment faces numerous challenges, mainly in placement tests. Secondly, because the paucity of research that has examined content validity of assessing scales and the challenges it faces. In light of these problems, this article aims to examine the content validity of the assessment scale for a SPF placement test by combining expert judgement methodology with the observations made to the linguistic performances of students during the piloting of the test. In addition, the internal consistency and the inter-rater reliability were calculated using the coefficients of Cronbach´s Alpha and Cohen´s Kappa. The qualitative and quantitative results verified the suitability of the proposed methodology and revealed that the assessment scale is valid and reliable.